Pics: Accidents in India

This is a discussion on Pics: Accidents in India within Street Experiences, part of the Buckle Up category; Originally Posted by amolbh
Aren't these two different cars? One's an Indica and the other a Indigo eCS.
Two separate ...

Aren't these two different cars? One's an Indica and the other a Indigo eCS.

Two separate incidents?

Hi mate, on a more closer look, i believe its same vehicle as the damage to the car and bus are the same in both pics so i guess no ways it can be 2 different cars. Also the position of both vehicles i.e bus and indica are the same in the 2 pics so it becomes even more evident.

It perhaps is a measure to avoid human-hurt to a extent during a mishap. Wearing a seat belt is mandatory in India and definitely there are ample examples wherein the seat belts turned out to be a savior.

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Yes,one example came 2-3 posts before mine in this thread.I was just drawing attention to the fact that seat belts save lives.

My wife's home is not far away from this spot where the accident happened. She says she has traveled in this bus (which caused the accident) multiple times and is one of the fastest buses in the Tirur-Kozhikode route. She herself has seen many near misses while on this bus. The same bus was involved in many many minor accidents before and according to the people in that area is one of the most dreaded one on the road! Its a shame that it was still allowed to continue service amidst so many complains. No wonder the people vented their anger!

The roads around Tirur-Tanur-Parapanangadi was relaid around a year ago and is now a superb surface, this adds to the confidence of these bus drivers to do even triple digit speeds. There is danger lurking at every turn every stretch on the road, you never know when a over-speeding bus overtaking another vehicle comes right onto you on your lane.

ATA is not one of the most dreaded i think it is the most dreaded bus on the roads of kerala. i have seen even the notorious trichur- kannur private buses giving way for this bus on nh 17, about the minor accidents i think you where misinformed because the same bus have claimed 21 lives in the past five years,yet no action was ever taken. corrupt cops corrupt mvd corrupt politicians what else to say. I think the bus driver was lucky to escape from the crowd otherwise.....!

Last edited by prasadnair : 3rd September 2013 at 19:04.
Reason: forgot to include the name of the bus

Saw another accident being reported by manoramaonline @ kerala. 8 people in an autorickshaw were killed in this unfortunate accident when a speeding bus rammed the auto.

Quote:

Originally Posted by binand

The road condition is like any non-NH road in Kerala - barely two lanes, curvy to the extreme, pothole-ridden and overcrowded with pedestrians, cyclists, two-wheelers and all sorts jostling for space. Whatever soft shoulder space available is taken over by political parties, religious outfits, movie publicists and the ubiquitous jewellery/clothing store hoardings. Words can't describe it - one needs to take a drive along the route to understand the extremely hazardous nature of this road. With buses struggling to do the 45 km route in their allocated 1 hour (if you don't, the RTO and police will start harassing you), I am only thankful that accidents aren't reported more frequently on this road.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sandsun7

There is danger lurking at every turn every stretch on the road, you never know when a over-speeding bus overtaking another vehicle comes right onto you on your lane.

“All other states are constructing 60-metre highways on BOT basis. Kerala was allowed to go ahead with the 45-metre road considering the peculiar situation in the state. If the width is further allowed to be reduced to 30 metre as per the state’s request, it will affect road safety standards. Also, the traffic density is increasing steadily and restricting the NH width is not advisable as per scientific studies,’’ said an NHAI official.

Unfortunate, but to be frank, the damage looks very controlled reading out the magnitude of the incident. Heck, even the wind-shield is intact!
What is even more surprising, rather shocking is that why the airbags did not deploy? This issue needs a look about.

Look at the last picture. the beam you see is the one behind bumper. That is not deformed at all. Airbag sensors are placed in this area, and therefore in such cases they will not deploy. In countries like India, where trucks often do not have the side and rear bars, cars end up under the truck and sensor will not deploy. However test scenarios use standardized road models which are developed in developed countries. So scenarios like "A buffalo hit the bonnet and flew in through the windshield" are never build into the failure model.

. So scenarios like "A buffalo hit the bonnet and flew in through the windshield" are never build into the failure model.

This would have been funny if it hadn't been true.
As for the trucks which have the makeshift barriers in place, I don't think they would be of any help when the accident does happen. Most of the ones I've seen are just hanging there with four bolts at each joint.
So rather than expecting the existing truck fleet to install proper barriers, why do car makers not look at changing the position of the deployment sensors?
I'm just shooting from the hip here, so maybe someone can tell us the implications, for or against?

So rather than expecting the existing truck fleet to install proper barriers, why do car makers not look at changing the position of the deployment sensors?

Totally i agree to your view mayankk, But you know what, it is impossible to predict the angular parameters of a vehicle in time of a crash. Neither the intensity of the crash can be pre-determined so before changing the positions of the deployment sensor it is all the more necessary to have crash-detection sensors in place for all cars i say. Also would like to point out that apart from OEM position of deployment sensor the next probable and appropriate place could be somewhere near to steering wheel.

Also would like to point out that apart from OEM position of deployment sensor the next probable and appropriate place could be somewhere near to steering wheel.

What you suggest is logically correct since employing the sensors near steering area means that from wherever the impact comes, it will save the driver. But I don't know if technically that is achievable since the airbags need some ; though little time to deploy from the chemical explosion. IMO, an impact that has reached the steering area may not give ample time to airbags to deploy in time. I am not sure but this is what I think about it. People more knowledgeable on the subject can correct me.

Employing the sensors near steering area means that from wherever the impact comes, it will save the driver. But I don't know if technically that is achievable since the airbags need some ; though little time to deploy from the chemical explosion. IMO, an impact that has reached the steering area may not give ample time to airbags to deploy in time. I am not sure but this is what I think about it. People more knowledgeable on the subject can correct me.

Good Morning Saket, I accept your view, but surely in the long run to avoid causalities in mishaps the companies surely need to improvise and build a robust technique to place the airbag deployment sensors at a appropriate place from where it can deploy at the earliest. As i mentioned about the angular parameters of a crash, if a alternate and more pro-active place is defined to these sensors then i believe the consumers wont have to face awkward situations. I will be happy to receive some more potent views pertaining to this from the stalwarts of automotive sector on the forum.

So rather than expecting the existing truck fleet to install proper barriers, why do car makers not look at changing the position of the deployment sensors?

May be it is not possible for these reasons:
1. If the full force of impact is taken only by the A-pillars, airbags can do little to save a life
2. Re-engineering the car for crash worthiness of Indian conditions does not make economic sense for car manufacturers (since it would require thorough testing, for impacts from all angles)
3. More the number of sensors, more possibility of unnecessary deployment of airbags, which increases the cost of maintenance for the car owners. It could also lead to unwanted bodily harm due to wrong deployment
4. Finally, no matter how safe a car is made, all it takes is one idiot driver to invent a new method of causing a crash and killing another (innocent) driver